The Portland daily press., 1887-11-19
THE FIRST JENNY LIND TICKET.
How cenin, the Halter, Made His
Fortune.

TBy p I. Barnum in the Cosmopolitan Magazine
for 0etoberl
In NV lecture on Success in Life" give
amon0 many rules, three that are indespen-
sable: first that a man must gain the conf
denee of the public as an upright, honest,
conscientious man, thereby retaining the
fifth and good will Of all whom he may deal
With With second TO supply the best that can be
nrocnred and third, to advertise these facts
In avery proper and feasible manner that re-
fection and foresight can suggest / give
herewith an illustration of the advantages
arisino from the above conditions,
When / engaged Jenny Lind to come to
America in 1872 the price that contracted
70 nav her was so enormous for those times
that most persons thought it would effect my
financial ruin. But knew had the very
hest attraction of the kind in the world at
thaf time, and as the people would find that
ont Al soon as they heard her sing, my first
endeavor was to c0ntrive to get them to at
TEND her earliest concerts. To that end
adopted every conceivable plan that /
thoneht hest calculated to stir up the whole
country into wild excitement before the
SSweedish Nightingale" ''the Divine Jen-
nie." should set foot upon our shores.
In my Autobiography are given numer-
ons devices to which resorted for this pur-
mise, knew that the fabulous sum of mon
eV that I was to pay for her duicet notes
would, of itself be big advertisement; that
neonle would begin to wonder what the price
Of tickets would have to be in order even
to reimburse me: that many would fear they
would not be able to pay the price charged,
etc. -
inc n week before her arrival, when l an
nouneed that. in order to give all deslrlous TO
hear Jennie Lind an equal chance, the ticket
would be sold at public auction, starting at
t memo nominal price of So per ticket. 1t was
acknowledged that this plan was fair, but
the wonder grew as to how many times the
'snominal price" the choice seats would bring
in this public competition. All over the
United States, and. indeed, Europe, the ex-
cited people were waiting for the news on
this point, which would reach them as soon
as possible after the sale.
For 10 days preceding the auction the
newspapers were full OF predictions regard
ing the price of tickets. Everybody wanted
to attend the first concert, andl orders from
all parts of the country were sent to friends
in New York to secure tickets, If they could
be bought at prices that were not utterly
fabulous.
II Is every mans business to exercise the
greatest possible foresight, whereby his call
ing can in an honest way be made most prof
table | clearly foresaw what effect this
auction sale of Jenny Lind tickets would
necessarily have in the existing excited state
Of the public mind; and that the higher the
prices obtained, the more would the frenzy
be increased Therefore, three days before
the auction of concert tickets was to come
off. | went quietly to John Genin, pop
Mar hat maker, and told him had a secret
business suggestion to impart, which, II
shrewdly managed, would, as believed help
him thousands of dollars in an advertise
ment ~
"What is it?" eagerly asked Mr.. Genin.
"Bid off the first Jenny Lind ticket" l re-
piled "and the higher the price, paid, the
greater renown will it give you all over the
country within "a hours after its purchase"
Genin, who was good advertiser, instant
~ saw his opportunity, and Selling my hand
with an air Of delight, he eagerly exclaimed,
"Barnum, you have made my fortune.
This is but one chance in lifetime. | VIII
buy the first Jenny Lind ticket, but l will
not mention it, even to my wife, TILL L nave
on reflection, feared that this brilliant
idea might not strike anybody else. and
consequently the bidding would not run very
high, but as / knew that any business man
who bought the first ticket would be great
gamer thereby, quietly called on DR.. Bran
dreth. the great pill maker, and tremend-
GUS advertiser. / asked for private inter
view. The doctor then invited me into MS
office, and locked the door, pointed to an
easy armchair, and then said in low voice:
''Friend Barnum, whatls up
"a mighty big thing for you. L replied,
'if you will keep it profound secret for
three days. r
he squeezed my hand and said MY dear
Barnum, pledge my honor not to diyulge 1t
to living being till you say the word"
''Buy the first Jenny Lind ticket at auc-
>tion, even II you pay high Tor II; l replied;
s'and let every newspaper in America and
Europe announce that DR.. Brandreth, Jr,
the maker of the celebrated .Brandreth, s
pills. secured the first Jenny Lind ticket,
at $50 or 300, as the case may be"
The doctor smiled, and replied: Pretty
good, Barnum, especially Tor you, you can
sail q ticket at that rate.
vas surprised at the calmness of this re-
mark, and said: "Yes, doctor, it may be
good for me, but that doesn't prevent its
being successful stroke of policy for you.
The doctor gave me sly wink. and mere
ly remarked: "Barnum, we all know you
have a fertile brain and don't miss any
chance to feather your nest. Your lore
sight is remarkable, and generally quite pro-
fitable
"Dr. Brandreth, have long admired your
ingenious methods Of advertising Brand
reth's Pills : but if you can't see the value TO
your business Of my suggestion beg e 70 SAY say
YOU will surely regret it whep that nrst Jen-
nv Lind ticket falls into other hands"
The doctor was so strongly impressed tnat
my idea was purely selfish one tnat several
minutes elapsed before he began 70 see tnat,
notwithstanding should be benehted by the
proposed plan, it would not prevent him from
reaping harvest at the same time. lie
thon said: II thank you for the hint, Mr..
Bsrnum. Perhaps $40 or $50 expended for
the first ticket would not be bad invest
ment; so will send my cashier to the auc,
ton with instructions to make liberal
bid"
Bidding the doctor goodbye, l walked
down Broadway, feeling that my plan had
put two worthy and ambitious, gentlemen
into frame of mind that would result In
greater eclat for the Jenny Lind enterprise
On Saturday, Sept. Z, 1851, 5000 anxious
persons entered Castle Garden, New York,
to attend the sale of the Jenny LIND tickets,
Notwithstanding the fact that the lessees OF
the garden made their usual charge OF IL IL
cents for crossing the bridge and thus secur-
ing admission to their premises. DR.. Brand
reth's cashier and Genin's b0okkeeper were
in the audience, each unaware OF the pres
once and purpose of the other. Inc auc-
tioneer mounted his stand. and, calling OF
DER" said, with great impressiyeness:
Ladies and gentlemen, | am now going TO
offer you the first choice of seat, With the
privilege of ten seats at the same price, 1or
the first concert in America of the world-re-
nowned Swedish Nightingale, Mademoisene
Jenny Lind" !.
A rustic Of expectation throughout the
vast edifice was heard for few moments,
and then ensued profound silence. "What
am offered?" asked the auctloneer;
twenty-five dollars!" startled the aud
fence. nobody knowing that it was bid by
DIR. BIandreth's cashier. The vast multitude
held its breath for moment,s when Fifty
dollars ~ was heard The audience could
not withhold q rousing cheer.
"Seyenty-ive dollars
zone hundred dollars! followed in quick
succession, and after the lapse of half a min
ute. as the auctioneer was about to knock 1t
down. "a hundred and fifty dollarsW from
Genin's agent electrified the listeners.
1.-TWO hundred dollars!' quickly came like
clap of thunder. !.
"Two hundred and twenty-five dollars"
exclaimed a voice in strong and determined
The three thousand ladies and gentlemen
uresent were fairly bewildered.s A minute
elapsed. when the auctioneer, who had not
had chance to open his mouth since the bid
ding commenced, said:
rs this the last bid, gentlemen? Bid
quick. or you lose it. Going, going, gone.
Who Is the lucky purchaser~
"John N. Genin, the hatter" cried stem
torian voice. The audience seemed thun-
derstruck, but in an instant there went up
..Three cheers for Genin, the hatterl" which
we're distinctly heard on the main land and
reverberated around the world
/ saw Mr.. Genin soon after the auction
was over, congratulated him on his pluck
and success, and asked him out OF curiosity
how much he would have paid for that
choice seat rather than haqe missed its pur-
chase. He replied:
II told my bookkeeper to bid as high as a
| Thousand dollars If necessary and then, as he
-. =, nv hank aQanunf stood ba rniUhf